Beauty and the Beast
by xXXKhrixiaxHikariXXx
Summary: A selfish and egotistical prince must learn how to love, otherwise he'll remain a beast for the rest of his life. Could Madeleine be the one to teach him how? Prussia x Fem!Canada


Once upon a time, in a far away land there lived the young Prince Gilbert.

One winter's night an old beggar woman came to his castle and offered him a single white carnation in exchange for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away.

She warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again the old woman's amber eyes narrowed, her ugliness melting away to reveal a beautiful blonde enchantress.

Gilbert tried to apologise but it was too late, she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment she transformed the albino into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the rest of the castle.

Ashamed of his appearance, the beast concealed himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.

The carnation the enchantress had offered was truly an enchanted carnation which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell then the spell would be broken, if not he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.

As the years passed by, he fell into despair and lost all hope of becoming human again. For who could ever love a hideous beast.

-xXx-

Madeleine casually strolled down the town street, with a small brown book in hand she went off to the bookshop.

The bell rang as the blonde opened the door and walked into the shop. "Ah, bonjour Madeleine".

"Bonjour, Maarten. Here's the book I borrowed yesterday". The Dutchman raised his eyebrows as he took the book from her. "You finished it already?"

"I-I just couldn't put it down" Madeleine blushed and smiled. "Have any new books come in yet?"

Maarten shook his head. "No, not since yesterday".

Madeleine shrugged her shoulders and scoured the shelves. "Well then… I'll just borrow… this one then". The blonde carefully pulled a book out from the pile.

"That one? But you've borrowed it several times already!"

"It's my favourite"… she trailed off, smiling down softly at the cover. "Then you should keep it".

The blonde's eyes widened with shock. "Oh, I couldn't"… "No, I insist". Maarten simply pushed the book into Madeleine's arms.

With the newly acquired novel to read, the blonde wandered around town deeply engrossed in her story. She stopped only for a moment to sit at the fountain in the village square.

Suddenly the crack of a gunshot rang through the air, it was soon followed by the sound of a goose hitting the ground. Madeleine winced. _Oh no, oh no. Not him, not…_

"Wow, great shot Ivan!" a brunet hurriedly shoved the dead bird into a bag before he rushed over to a much taller and heavily built Russian.

"I know" Ivan casually twirled his shotgun around leaving it to point directly at the brunet's face, laughing nervously he pushed the muzzle of the gun away from him.

"Yeah, no animal stands a chance against you. Or any girl for that matter!"

"It's true Toris! And that's precisely why I've got my sights set on that one!" He pointed towards a certain blonde sitting at the fountain.

"Alfred's sister? But she's"… "The second most beautiful person in town! And therefore, she's the best. I deserve only the best, da?"

"Well, sure but"… "Exactly! Now, here she comes".

Deliberately getting in her way, his lips turned up into a childish smile. "Hello, Madeleine"

"Good day, Ivan".

The Russian snatched the novel out of the young blonde's hands and flipped through the pages. "How can you even read these? There aren't any pictures in them!" Madeleine rolled her eyes. "Some people actually like to use their imaginations".

"It's about time you got your head out of the clouds and paid attention to much more important things, like me!"

"Look Ivan, I'm sorry but I really have to get home and help my brother".

"That crazy idiot? He needs all the help he can get"

"My brother's not crazy! Don't you dare talk about him like that!" Madeleine angrily snatched her book back and marched off in the direction that led to her house.

With the blonde gone, the Russian scowled and turned to the brunet beside him. "Make no mistake. Madeleine will be mine".

-xXx-

Now at home, the blonde sighed as she helped her brother pack up the things he'd need for the faire tomorrow. "Hey Maddie, are you ok? You look a little down or something".

"Huh? Oh it's nothing, nothing at all. Alfred… do you think I'm odd?"

The older blonde's eyes blinked in surprise. "My adorable little sister odd? No way! The Hell did you get an idea like that from?"

Madeleine fidgeted with the sleeves of her dress before answering her brother. "I don't know. It's just that... well, people talk".

"And? You shouldn't care what other people think. You're special, unique even, and don't you even dare think of trying to change just to please those village idiots. If any of them gets at you too much though, well… I just might have to acquaint my fist with their face".

The blonde smiled and couldn't help but laugh at what her brother said. "Thanks Al". Alfred simply smiled back at her with his signature 100 watt smile.

"No prob Sis"

-xXx-

My inner Muse strikes yet again! It seems she has a thing for Disney films, what is this like… my third Disney-Hetalia based fanfic?

Also, you guys won't know who the enchantress is. She's a personification of a fictional country from another Disney film. Virtual Gilbird-shaped cookies will be rewarded to any who can guess which one.


End file.
